4 tips for getting along with pain in the a** roommates

Having roommates is a great way to meet cool people and develop long-lasting friendships. It’s a great way to save money and a great way to maintain a household (chores are way easer to do with two people), but everyone knows that roommates can sometimes be a serious pain in the ass. Here are some ways to make your house more harmonious, so you can stop the fighting and get on with the relaxing.

Make a chore schedule

It’s so, so much easier to get along with your roommate if you both agree to a schedule for chores. There are no surprises and no arguments – you’ve already hashed out everything beforehand, so you should always be able to point to the schedule and solve any problems. Having chores on a rotating schedule, visible for you both (stick it on the fridge!), makes it so no one person has to always do the dishes or vacuum and leaves you both feeling comfortable and treated fairly.

Try to buy food together

Not only is it kinda fun to go food shopping with someone for spontaneous dinner ideas and just to break up the monotony of the supermarket, it makes more sense to coordinate your ‘food schedule’ so you can both prepare for the week ahead. Not only that, it eliminates those awkward moments when you’re not sure if you can eat that cheese or drink that juice in your fridge. Bonding over food shopping helps!

Cook together

Piggybacking off the previous point, after you go to the market together, why not take a day and cook a ton of food to eat for the rest of the week? Cooking with someone is so much easier and a lot more fun than it is alone, and on top of that it gives you an opportunity to get to know your roommate better. Communication and togetherness are key in any relationship, so why not bolster the relationship you have with your roommate?

Check out each other’s interests

Your roommate wants to play Xbox and you want to watch Real Housewives. They listen to ska and you listen to Beyonce. It seems like a gap that will never be crossed, but why not try? People like when others take interest in their hobbies, and it’s always good to try branching out. By spending time together, you establish bonds that are a lot stronger and more rewarding than the stereotypical “both of you stay in your rooms and never leave” situation. Not only that, you may find yourself loving their hobby and incorporate it into your own life!

Born on the Prairies, Erin Cardone grew up knowing there was more to life than canola fields and AAA Alberta Angus. So she escaped, living in Europe and Australia, white-knuckling it through plates of calf brains and raw horse meat, and learning languages she can't remember anymore. After a stint as a jaded, skeptical journalist, she changed tack and began writing rather awesome blogs and showing businesses that advertising is dead, so long live social media, with her businesses Legendary Social Media. She now splits her time between various Canadian cities, Costa Rica and wherever else the wind blows.

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